by Colin Woodard, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story For 178 years, dams stood across the Penobscot River here, obstructing salmon and other river-run fish from reaching the watershed’s vast spawning grounds, which extend all the way to the Quebec border. Now, two years after the dam’s removal, the salmon’s proponents fear the fish Read More
Penobscot River
Historic $24 Million Penobscot River Project Nearly Finished
By Nick Sambides Jr., BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story HOWLAND, Maine — Atlantic Ocean-based salmon, sturgeon, American shad and alewives will be able to find spawning grounds in northern Maine for the first time in more than a century with the culmination of a 16-year project next spring, officials said this week. Engineers Read More
Maine’s North Woods Have Precisely What Most of the World is Missing
By Alexandra Conover Bennett, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Several decades ago, as a young Registered Maine Guide, one of the first canoe trips I led was along the rolling waters of the East Branch of the Penobscot River just east of Baxter State Park. Nowadays, the river and surrounding land is Read More
Two Years After Dams’ Removal, Penobscot River Flourishes
Alewives, shad and even whitewater paddlers have returned as the largest river restoration endeavor in U.S. history starts to yield results. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story VEAZIE — For nearly four decades, Barbara Wilson could watch from her deck as the waters of the Penobscot River cascaded over the 30-foot Read More
A New Maine National Park: The “Wow” Factors
As I travel around the state and call or email my fellow Mainers about my main current, focus area here at NRCM, the National Park and Recreation Area proposal, I am sometimes met with a question best summarized recently by a friend (who wholeheartedly supports the idea of a park, by the way): “Where is the Read More
Judge Orders Mallinckrodt Manufacturing to Fund Mercury Cleanup Plan for Penobscot River
The ruling is a step toward requiring the company to pay to clean up pollution from the former HoltraChem site – a cost estimated at $130 million. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story A federal judge ordered Mallinckrodt Manufacturing Co. on Wednesday to pay to develop a detailed plan to clean Read More
Judge Seeks Plan for Cleanup of Penobscot River at HoltraChem Site
By Dawn Gagnon, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story BANGOR, Maine — A federal court judge issued a ruling Wednesday ordering that an engineering firm be hired to develop a plan to clean up mercury deposited in the Penobscot River by a defunct Orrington chemical plant. HoltraChem, which operated from 1967 to 1982, produced Read More
This Year Could be a Triple Birthday for Our National Parks
By Lisa Pohlmann and W. Kent Olson, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Tuesday, Aug. 25, is the 99th birthday of the National Park Service, and our Acadia celebrated its 99th in July. Take a moment to sing happy birthday to “America’s best idea.” Think of the spectacular places the park service manages Read More
Whitewater Regatta Focuses Spotlight on Penobscot River Restoration
By Jay Field MPBN news story OLD TOWN, Maine – Whitewater canoeists and kayakers from across the country are in Maine for a competition event that wouldn’t have been possible just three years ago. The Penobscot River Whitewater Nationals Regatta got underway in Old Town Thursday, with races scheduled to take place through Sunday afternoon. Read More